The application portal for the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot program opened on Thursday, allowing Cook County residents to apply for monthly payments of $500 for two years.
The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, providing $42 million in funding for the payments to be sent to 3,250 residents over the course of two years.
In order to be eligible, applicants must be a Cook County resident, at least 18 years old and have an income at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
Applications will be open from Thursday through Friday, Oct. 21. While applications are open now, county officials said there is no benefit to applying earlier in the application period and that the final participants of the program will be chosen at random.
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Below are the federal poverty guidelines correlated with household size to help determine eligibility:
| Household/ Family Size | 250% FPL |
| 1 | $33,975 |
| 2 | $45,775 |
| 3 | $57,575 |
| 4 | $69,375 |
| 5 | $81,175 |
| 6 | $92,975 |
| 7 | $104,775 |
| 8 | $116,575 |
| *For each additional member over 8, add $11,800 |
Any residents that are already participating in a guaranteed income pilot program, such as those in Evanston and Chicago, are not eligible to participate in the Cook County program.
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Residents interested in learning more information on the program are also encouraged to attend a virtual webinar organized by county officials on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.
Those who are selected to participate in the pilot program are expected to begin receiving payments in December 2022.
